Page 286 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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E – F: GRE Words
emancipate (im AN si PAYT) vt. 1. to set free from bondage, slavery, serfdom,
and the like; 2. to free from control or restraint
• Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 did not emancipate the slaves
living in the Union, only those in the Confederacy, where he had no
power.
• At age 18 in most states, a child can be emancipated from his or her parents’
control.
[-d, emancipating, emancipation n.] [Syn. free]
embezzle (em BEZ il) vt. to steal by fraud; to take money from someone on
false pretense and then spend it on oneself
• Several corporate executives spent the late 1990s embezzling their stockhold-
ers’ money.
• Con men are skilled in the art of embezzling.
[-d, embezzling, -ment, -r n.] [Syn. steal]
emit (ee MIT) vt. to send out; send forth; give off; utter; discharge
• A transmitter’s antenna emits some kind of waves.
• A speaker stands before an audience and emits words.
• Old Faithful emits hot water at regular intervals.
[-ted, -ting] [Syn. discharge]
emollient (im AHL yint) adj. softening; soothing —n. a substance that has a
softening effect when applied to the skin
• Many medicinal preparations have an emollient effect.
• Proper skin care requires replacing skin moisture every day by using
emollients.
encomium (in KOHM ee uhm) n. a formal expression of praise; a hymn or
eulogy
• “America the Beautiful” is an encomium to the natural beauty of the country.
• “Adonais” is Shelly’s encomium to the poet John Keats.
[Syn. tribute]
enigmatic (EN ig MAT ik) adj. like a seemingly inexplicable matter (enigma);
perplexing; baffling
• Lightning must have been very enigmatic to everyone living prior to the
eighteenth century.
• Traveling faster than the speed of light is the stuff of science fiction but is
enigmatic to today’s science.
[-ally adv.] [Syn. obscure]
enunciate (in UHN see AYT) vt. 1. to state in a systematic way; 2. to pronounce
words clearly; 3. to announce
• Einstein first enunciated his theory of relativity in 1905.
• It is important to enunciate clearly to make your position understood by
others.
• Bob and Carol enunciated their engagement to each other.
[-d, enuciating] [Syn. utter]